Rodney Mullen is the epitome of a self-directed learner. Born in 1966, Mullen is a professional skateboarder, entrepreneur, inventor and public speaker who has found a multitude of different ways to leverage his passions into a business enterprise. Mullen is credited with inventing such common tricks as the ollie, the kickflip, the heelflip and the impossible. Over the course of his career, he has competed at the professional level, but now spends most of his time advocating for the implementation of programs that value innovation. In the two clips below, you'll get a glimpse into his creative process.

• Why do you think Rodney Mullen was willing to invest so much time into the Impossible?
• What might have been some of the barriers to Rodney's learning process?
• What kind of environment might best inspire a creative mindset and outlook?